PIZZA MY WAY

HERE’S A CARB WORTH BREAKING A DIET RESOLUTION OVER. My cousin Lorraine’s husband, Al, got me started on my quest for the perfect pizza when he made his version for us on some family get-together way back when. He’s Italian and claimed to have some direct connection with the Italian cooking gods that gave him special insight into cooking with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, oregano and basil that us Irish kids lacked.

Actually, he was right. But I persevered nonetheless and have developed a pizza dough and sauce that is among the best I’ve ever tasted. Actually, the dough owes more to my mother, Edith, than me. My earlier attempts produced tough dough that resulted in a mealy, bland crust. My mother, who has been baking bread for as long as I can remember (the recipes for which you will find in the Baked Goods section), looked at my recipe; adjusted the amount of olive oil and yeast; and gave me a recipe for a silken dough that produces a crust that is crunchy at the edges and tender under the toppings.

Pizza has become a once-a-month Saturday staple at our house and is the chosen cuisine for our irregularly scheduled bridge games with our friends, the Shoens. They too think it is the best pizza they’ve ever eaten and would probably not make the hour trek from Fort Worth to Dallas to play bridge with someone as inept as I, if it were not for the pizza.

We’ve been playing bridge with the Shoens on and off since around 1978 when, shortly after the birth of our second child, Carey, her sister Kimberly—worried that her mother was becoming a hermit because of Carey’s premature birth and the resultant extended postpartum care—pulled a passing Norma Shoen her newly adopted daughter, Sara, and Sara’s carriage onto our front porch in Pittsburgh, triumphantly announcing that she had found her mother a friend.

She was right.

Not only did Maureen and Norma become friends, her husband Rich and I did as well. The friendship has lasted through several changes in careers and cities for both couples—separate odysseys that ended karma-like in the sister cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. In fact, I blame the Shoens for being in Dallas. The only reason I decided to fly to Dallas from Pittsburgh with my wife for a job interview was for the opportunity to see the Shoens and renew an old friendship. I had no intention of trading the graceful green landscapes of Pittsburgh for the glitter, flash and pancake flatness of North Texas.

Strange how a really good job offer changes your perspective.

With the renewal in our friendship, came a renewal in our semi-regular bridge games that had started in Pittsburgh. Rich is actually the only partner that will tolerate my bridge playing. I have never had the requisite intensity for card games like bridge and have failed to master any but the most rudimentary rules of bidding. But doesn’t seem to care. Our games, with us paired against our wives, are relaxed and enjoyable with frequent questions about whose turn it is to deal, who bid what, are you ready for another drink and what is trump again?

Like me, he sees bridge as a reason to socialize and eat my pizza. Now for the best pizza you’ll ever have.

Pizza My Way: The Recipe

Makes three thin-crust or two thick-crust pizzas

Ingredients

FOR THE SAUCE

3 cups chopped tomatoes: about five medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped or one large can (28 ounces) of whole tomatoes

1 cup onion: about a half of one of those fist-sized large onions finely diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

3 garlic cloves chopped

½ cup of beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup red wine

½ cup fresh basil chopped, or 4 teaspoons dried.

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, ½ teaspoon dried.

1/8 teaspoon of red pepper

FOR THE DOUGH

1½ cups water Use warm tap water from 105° F to 115°F.

1 package dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups flour (+/-)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried oregano or 3 tablespoons fresh

Olive oil to coat the bowl used to raise the dough.

First: Chop the onion and slowly simmer it in the oil and butter with the sugar for about 15 minutes until the onions begin to turn pale brown. A long slow simmer is best. Don’t rush this part. When I do, the sauce lacks depth.

Second:While the onions are simmering, work on the tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, make a concassée. Peel the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for about 10-15 seconds, and then run them under cold water. The skins should come off easily. Cut in quarters and gently squeeze and scrape the seed out. Work over a colander set in a bowl to catch the juices. Discard the seeds and wash out the colander. Chop the tomatoes coarsely and put them in the colander set over a bowl to catch any remaining juice. Reserve the juice separately. If using canned tomatoes, pour out the liquid and save. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and chop and drain as above.

Third: Add the beef broth to the onions and return to the simmer, then add the tomato paste, the liquid from the tomatoes and the wine. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the chopped up tomatoes, the basil, oregano and red pepper. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Fourth: After the mixture returns to the simmer, taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Continue to simmer and cook it down for about another hour while you make the pizza dough. Stir it occasionally and taste for seasoning. It should be thick, not runny when you put it on the dough.

Now, for the dough. First: In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast and the sugar on the warm water and let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve and the mixture to become foamy. The sugar hastens the process. Add the olive oil.

Second: Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add all but about a quarter of a cup of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and blend the mixture together using your hands or the dough hook on the blender or food processor (slow speed). Add the rest of the flour (and more if necessary) to make the dough ball soft and pliable. It should clean the sides of the bowl.

Third: If you’re making the dough by hand, turn the ball out onto a floured surface and knead for about six to eight minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. If you’re using a mixer or food processor, blend with the dough hook for two to three minutes more then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute or so. If you press the heel of your hand into the dough, it should come away clean, but the dough should be soft and springy. If it’s tough, you’ve added too much flour and there’s not a lot you can do. I’ve used dough that was a little tough and the final results were ok—not great, but ok. If you’re a perfectionist, start over. If you’re like me, drive on.

Fourth: Rub the inside of a large, clean bowl (I wipe out the mixing bowl and use it), with olive oil and drop the dough ball in, turning it over once or twice to coat it with the oil. Cover with a dishtowel and let it rise for about 30-45 minutes.

Fifth: At this point, you need to decide if you’re going to do a thin crust or a thick crust pizza. If you like a thick crust, divide the ball into two pieces to make two pizzas. If you’re doing a thin crust, divide the dough ball into three pieces of the same size. If you want a super thin crust—not much thicker than a tortilla chip—divide the dough into four pieces. I prefer a thin crust, so I divide the ball into three pieces.

Sixth: The next step is to stretch the dough into 12-13 inch rounds, which is the size of most pizza pans, stones and screens used for home baking. If you’re going to use a pizza screen, roll the dough out on a floured surface and place it gently on a well-oiled screen. DO NOT PRESS ON THE DOUGH or you will never get the baked pizza off. Lay it gently on the screen and crimp the edges to form a crust (or not if you’re in to crust-less pizza). If you’re using a regular pan, drop the dough ball onto its oiled surface and stretch it across the pan with your fingers. If you’re using a stone, roll out the dough or spread it out with your fingers and place it on a pan or cutting board. Cover the pizzas and let them rise for another 30 minutes. Turn off the sauce to let it cool. Pre-heat the oven (or ovens if you’re making more than two pizzas) to 400°F.

Seventh: Another decision point. Depending on how crispy you like your crust and the moisture of your topping, you may want to pre-bake the crust for about two to three minutes in a 500°F oven, then cool for 10 minutes before adding the toppings. Split the sauce between or among the pizzas using all of it or as much as you want. Add the toppings, cover with cheese (again a personal preference).

Eighth: Turn down the oven(s) to 325°F and bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. If I'm using a screen or pans, I rotate the pizzas between the top and bottom shelves about halfway through for more even cooking. Make sure you watch them closely. If your ovens are like mine, the cheese can go from just melted to golden brown to inky black in the blink of an eye.

And finally: Serve with a tossed salad (try my Vinaigrette recipe on page 188 in the Soups & Salads section) and your favorite beverage.